


Safe Bet, My Love

by navaan



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Banter, Cage Fights/Pit Fights, Established Relationship, F/F, Fist Fights, Kissing, hint of hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:08:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29271501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navaan/pseuds/navaan
Summary: Allura watched Kima in the fighting pit. Because that’s what you do when you’re a mage in love with a headstrong Paladin who loves a fight.
Relationships: Kima/Allura Vysoren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 6





	Safe Bet, My Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Urist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Urist/gifts).



> Happy Chocolate Box reveals! ♥

The arena is nothing more than a big stable-like construction that someone had built some rough wooden stand into. The ring was a circle marked by a wooden fence.

Currently the place was smelling of dirt and blood and sweat.

Allura wrinkled her nose and turned another page of the small tome she was reading. The person beside her was staring at it with a furrowed brow; he could not read the pages that she'd enchanted with the purpose of being unreadable to sneaky readys like him. She waited for a snarky comment or an amiable-flirty question but after a moment the man turned away and left her to her reading.

There was a cheer going through the crowd as the next fighters were introduced. She caught the enthusiastic string of names the ring master applied to Horward the Unbeaten. Horward turned out to be a huge Half-Orc with a scar across the right cheek. He was handsome in a very roguish sort of way, but Allura wasn't looking at _him_.

"...challenger Kima of Vord."

The ring master had no hyperbolic adjectives for Kima - and Kima's brow set in deep lines immediately when she realized it too. Allura could tell from her spot up in the ranks that her lips were forming a displeased downward line.

The crowd settled - not impressed by the Halfling woman with a scar that rivaled Howards across her face. She wore her normally wavy blonde hair in a tight braid that fell over her back.

"Is the lady sure she can take a guy like Horward? Is she that desperate for the money?"

"10 gold on Horward!" someone shouted behind her.

Bets were made all around her; money changed hands quicker than she could take note of it - but from what she was hearing the odds were stacked against her love.

The elf who was walking around with a ledger collecting the bets was about to pass her by again, after all she hadn't bothered to place a bet in the past two fights and she had barely looked up from her tome to watch. But this time she raised her hand to get his attention and held up a small purse. "One hundred gold pieces on the beautiful Halfling," she said sweetly and with a proper smile.

"You don't plan on cheatin' little magic lady," one of the rough looking fellows sitting behind her growled. "Magic not allowed."

"Ah," Allura replied in a pleasant tone, "my friend down there is quite headstrong. If she wants to win, you can be sure she will and she won't need my help or anyone's to do it."

The politeness of her smile didn't crack or falter as she held up the purse a little higher, waiting for the elf to take it. "One hundred gold pieces on my beautiful Halfling friend."

"No returns if she loses," the elf warned.

"Don't worry. She will pay me back if she loses," she says with a laugh. She could feel Kima's eyes on her for a moment before she turned her attention back to her opponent with the determined gleam of the experienced fighter. "I just don't think it will be necessary."

Finally the fight was about to begin - and although Allura had no taste for the usual violence of a fist fight she put her book away and sat up a little straighter. Kima stepped through a door in the fence to stand in front of Horward who was snarling at her in a transparent attempt of intimidation.

Kima whispered something under her breath - loud enough to be heard by her opponent but too quiet to carry over the noise of the crowd. Whatever Kima had said, it did not fail to enrage Horward, who sneered, spit into the sand and shouted: "I will crush you."

"Off to a good start," Allura's neighbour said. "Still think your friend will be alright."

"She faced far worse," she said, as unimpressed as Kima was with the display.

The fight started with a raging Half-Orc throwing the first punch at Kima's face. She avoided the first uppercut and took the second to the stomach, grunting, to turn it all around with a kick to the larger fighter's male parts.

Allura rolled her eyes and sighed.

It was typical for Kima to establish herself as someone who knew the game in the first few rounds. When she was out of her golden armor, not wearing the crest of Bahamut, people who didn't know her tended to see a Hafing woman - not someone to be reckoned with.

"Ouch," the person beside her said, "won't help her. Only makes him more angry. Barbarians, you know."

"I've known a few in my time," Allura said mildly. Grog Strongjaw was one of Kima's sparring partners when they were visiting their friends in Whitestone.

"Bet you 10 more gold that she goes down two rounds in."

The human who had spoken was ogling her. He was gauging her pretty dress, her expensive gloves, had likely seen her hand over the purse, too. She didn't need a spell to see that he wasn't a rich person. _Thief?_ she thought. _Or someone who smells an opportunity for quick money?_

"You good for it?" She did not hide the slightly mocking tone.

"Are you?"

She shrugged.

Below, Kima had just caught the fist flying towards her and headbutted her oponent.

"Be careful with that face, sweety," Allura shouted. "I am invested in it."

Horward was down, blood covering his whole face. Kima had a split lip and grinned up at her fiercely. "You can clean it up later."

That moment Horward grabbed Kima by the leg and pulled it out under her. She went down hard and the back of her head crashed against the earth with a sickening crack.

"That one's on you, dear," Kima shouted - in her very own way letting Allura know she was alright.

"I am sorry," she shouted back over the excited cheers of the crowd, seeing their champion Horward going in for the deciding blow.

He never got there.

The fight was over three blows later - and the winner was Lady Kima of Vord as Allura had known it would be.

"You owe me ten gold," she told the human who stared down at the pit gobsmacked. He looked down, back at her face, back down and handed over the gold pieces.

She was going to collect the rest of her winnings later.

* * *

"I'm a bad influence on you," Kima said, way too cheerful for someone who had a black eye, a swollen bottom lip and a cut on cheek. "You were never much of a gambler before we started to spend more time with each other. Now look at you. Winning all that money."

Allura was carefully cleaning the cut before applying a salve with healing potion properties.

"I have hidden depths, my darling."

"Aww, don't I know it," Kima said happily and patted Allura's cheek while Allura went on inspecting her bruised face. Drunk on the moment of cheer and happiness, Kima leaned in to brush her lips against hers and Allura kissed back.

"You will treat me to dinner, I hope," Kima whispered.

"You've earned it. On the other hand, you dragged me to the fighting pit in the first place - when I could have stayed all day at the Great Library of..."

"Oh, admit it, you enjoyed yourself - and I will make it up to you," Kima chuckled and pulled her in for a kiss that made her forget all about magic studies and Council matters.


End file.
